Hearing to seek block of brothers as directors

AN APPLICATION is to be brought to the High Court next Monday to restrict former restaurateurs Christian and Simon Stokes as company directors.

The application, which is listed for Monday morning, is being brought by the liquidator of one of the Stokes brothers’ companies, Auldcarn Limited.

The company, which formerly owned the Clarendon pub, went into liquidation just over a year ago with debts of €2.3 million, including a tax bill of almost €1 million.

The two brothers were directors of two other companies – Mayfair Properties, the company behind Bang Cafe restaurant which is also in liquidation, and Missford Limited, the holding company for the private members’ club Residence, now in receivership.

Both Bang Cafe and Residence have since reopened under new management.

As well as €1 million owed to the Revenue Commissioners, Auldcarn owed €678,000 to Mayfair and €113,000 to Missford.

A Bernard McNamara-controlled company, Zarament, was also owed €550,000.

However, the company had no assets from which the debts could be paid.

The application, which is being made by Jim Luby of McStay Luby Chartered Accountants, follows an investigation by the liquidator which found that the company directors did not act “honestly and responsibly” and had continued to trade for a number of years while insolvent.

Under company law, liquidators are obliged to file a section 56 report to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement within six months of an insolvent liquidation.

However, only a small percentage – approximately between 10 and 20 per cent of all liquidations – recommend that a director be restricted.

While Jeffrey Stokes, the father of Christian and Simon Stokes and proprietor of Unicorn and Il Segreto restaurants on Merrion Row in Dublin, is listed as a director of Auldcarn, the court application only applies to Christian and Simon Stokes, as Jeff Stokes was not involved in the running of the company.

During the court hearing last year for the receivership of Missford, Mr Justice Peter Kelly was highly critical of the brothers’ management of Residence, in particular its failure to pass on employee tax contributions to the Revenue.

Mr Justice Kelly said there was “at least a question mark” over the propriety of the directors’ behaviour relating to the wrongful retention of tax monies and the making of loans to related companies.